Idioms and Phrases 130

1. wag: move quickly.

• The tail was wagging.

2. (to) wage: to bet.

• I am not in the habit of wagging.

3. wages: payment against work.

• The workers must get adequate wages.

4. waive: remove.

• Your complaint cannot be waived.

5. wave: rise and fall of water.

• The ship could not sail because the waves were high.

6. wan: pale.

• Out of weakness his face books wan.

7. wane: decrease.

• The light of the sun begins to wane in the afternoon.

8. wain: wagon.

• The wain was full of what.

9. we: ourselves.

• We should do our duty.

10. wee: very small.

• Why are you quarrelling on such a wee amount.

11. weather: season.

• They cannot be allowed to go out because the weather is bad.

12. whether: if.

• The teacher asked the student whether he was not feeling well.

13. weed: useless plant.

• Remove the weed from your orchard.

14. weeds: mourning dress.

• The woman was wearing weeds after her husband’s death.

15. whither: where.

• Whither are you going at this late hour.

16. wither: decay.

• The young plants wither if they do not get enough water and light.

17. wreak: take revenge.

• It is not proper to think of wreaking from other persons.

18. wreck: destroy.

• The whole city was wrecked by the enemy. 

19. wreath: garland.

• Offer a wreath at the feet of the statue of Lord Shiva.

20. wreathe: twist.

• Please do not wreathe my hand out of joke.

21. writ: a legal document.

• He field a writ in the High Court at Allahabad when he lost his case at the lower court.

22. write: record.

• Please write down your name at the foot of each page.

23. writhe: twist the body with pain.

• The patient was so seriously ill that he was writhing.

24. wrote: past tense of write.

• He wrote a letter to his father from England.

25. wroth: very angry.

• The father grew wroth when he knew that his son was in the habit of using intoxicants.

26. wrought: done.

• The work was wrought properly under the instructions of the parents.

27. yarn: thread.

• The clothes of Modi yarn are preferred by the people.

28. yearn: desire strongly.

• A young boy, or girl often yearns to return to his parents even after a short separation.

29. ye: thou.

• Ye, art the servant of God.

30. yea: yes.

• The student said to the teacher. “Yes, sir.”

31. yoke: wooden frame put over the shoulders of oxen.

• Yoke is an important item of Indian farmers from their tools of cultivation.

32. yolk: the yellow part of an egg.

• Only the yolk is the energy giving part of an egg.